On a Mission
January 29, 2012
Rev. Susan E. Gilbert Zencka
Frame Memorial Presbyterian Church
Texts: Psalm 111, Mark 1:21-28
Many of us read the opening line to Snoopy’s novel, again and again through the years we read the Peanuts comic strip. And we remember some other famous opening lines, whether from fiction or oratory:
The passage from Mark isn’t actually the opening, so why even bring it up? I bring it up because today’s lesson flows out of the opening, so as long as we’re talking about it, let’s read the opening line of Mark’s Gospel:
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We didn’t read Mark from the very beginning this year, but that’s the opening sentence: The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Following that sentence, Mark launches directly into describing the ministry of Jesus. Unlike the gospels of Matthew and Luke, Mark tells no Christmas story. No infancy narrative, or stories from the childhood of Jesus. Mark just plunges into the story of the ministry of Jesus, beginning with his baptism, that we read about three weeks ago. Then we went to two call stories - one from John’s Gospel, two weeks ago; and the other from Mark’s Gospel, last week.
So actually we are still in the opening passages of Mark’s account of Jesus - and as Mark is telling this story, we should pay particular attention to how he describes the episodes at the beginning - for he is laying a foundation for the rest of the story. This episode connects to both the passages from Mark that we’ve read in recent weeks, and not surprisingly - after all, we are only at verse 21 in this first chapter.
And that brings me to an important aside - one of the real problems with the way we read the Bible in worship is that we tend to take a 6-12 verse segment and deal with it in isolation, and it wasn’t meant to be read in that way. None of these passages are stand alone nuggets of meaning - much of what they mean comes from their context, both their literary context and their historical context.
And of course, that’s true of most words - how you hear me depends on how well you know me, and also upon your own circumstances. Communication doesn’t stand in isolation - like real estate, its value comes from location, location, location - or context, context, context.
Back to today’s lesson - this time, in context. After Mark announces what his Gospel is about - the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God - he then tells the story of the baptism of Jesus (with some background on John the Baptist). The high point of the baptism of Jesus had been the Spirit of God descending upon Jesus and a voice from heaven saying “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
Then Jesus had been led into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan… and then he returned to begin his ministry, which Mark summarized saying, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
To understand what I believe is going on in these passages, we have to actually get away from our own context and just read what the text actually says. When we hear “Satan” we tend to think about a devil, tempting us to do bad things. But that’s not what the text actually says. The word Satan originally meant accuser and in the context of this series of stories, gives us a different perspective. Jesus is blessed by God in his baptism, and then goes into the wilderness where he has a very different experience - he experiences the accuser. For Jesus, as for most of us, the central spiritual battle is the battle for our identity is: who do we believe we really are?
I’ve spoken before about basement and balcony voices that tell us who we are - and most of us have both of these voices speaking to us. Basement voices are those voices who tell us that we’ll never amount to much, that no one likes us, that we’re too ugly, or dumb, or clumsy, or slow. And we carry these basement voices with us because people in our lives - parents or teachers or coaches or peers - have said these things to us. I remember once having lunch with a woman whom I kind of envied - she is attractive, and fit, and smart, and very competent - and I was so stunned when she told me that because of the things her mother had said to her all her life, she really struggled with self-esteem. It’s a rare person who doesn’t struggle with the basement voices at all.
But most of us also have some balcony voices in our lives - those voices that identify our gifts, who tell us that we are precious and lovable, those voices that echo God’s in our hearts, those voices that bless us and tell us that we are a blessing.
And the passages in Mark’s Gospel about the baptism of Jesus and his temptation in the wilderness tell us that Jesus, too, was hearing both of these voices. And when he came back from his time in the wilderness with the accuser, where he had been cared for by angels - and we should remember here that “angel” comes from the Greek word angelos meaning messenger - so Jesus had dealt with the accuser by relying on the messages from God. Jesus had come to a sense of who he was, and so he was ready to proclaim the Good News of God, that the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near - and he called disciples, and that brings us to this first miracle story, which is in stark contrast to the baptism. For here, Jesus is not affirmed by God, but accused by an unclean spirit - a spirit that is the antithesis of the voice of God. It is not a story about a Hollywood exorcism, but about the very real voices that we all encounter, those very present forces that block our ability to be who we really are.
If these early miracles are intended to show us what Jesus means by the kingdom of God coming near, perhaps we see it in this story - that Jesus is, as David Lose of Luther Seminary in St. Paul puts it “...opposing the forces of evil which would rob the children of God of all that God hopes and intends for them.”
Oh, how we all need that Good News! How we all need to be delivered from the voices of fear, the voices of condemnation, the voices of criticism that are either tearing us down, or only letting us feel good about ourselves if we are tearing others down. How we all need to realize that indeed, the time is right to let our minds be changed - about ourselves, about the world, about God - so that we might experience the love of God, and live the love of God, and pass on the love of God. How we all need to awaken to that love, in order that our lives might have the authority and authenticity of Jesus - that integrity that comes from knowing who we are, and living out of that centeredness.
This story takes place in Capernaum. When I was in Israel 2½ years ago, we visited Capernaum. We went into the ruins of the synagogue, which are 2 buildings away from the ruins of the home of Simon Peter, which is a stone’s throw away from the water’s edge. As you continue down the street, away from the shore, you pass a number of small businesses - indeed, Capernaum, where Jesus lived during a large part of his ministry, reminded me of walking along Main Street in Stevens Point - and reminded me that Jesus was often in ministry among people who knew him well. St. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the Gospel at all times - use words if necessary.” The people of Capernaum knew Jesus, and knew that the Gospel he lived was consistent with the words he preached. The Good News of Jesus came from his own experience of the wisdom of God. The Good News of Jesus was shown in his own authenticity.
Psalm 111 spoke of the faithfulness of God, the works of God, the covenant of God. It also spoke of wisdom, saying, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Here also, we need a fresh understanding - in this case, fear means something much more like awe or wonder. Sr. Joan Chittister describes this as “...holy astonishment, complete wonder and awe at what God does in my life and the life of everyone around me.” Such holy astonishment was the response of those in the synagogue in Capernaum who were amazed at the teaching of Jesus. Ms. Chittister continues, “... wisdom, if we seek it, is that which simply does not let us alone. Wisdom doesn’t settle down nor does it allow us to settle down. Wisdom leads us from one point to another in life until we learn what we’re supposed to learn, until we do what we’re supposed to do, until we each become what we’re supposed to become…. If we respond to the voice of wisdom around us and in us, we will then need to change, grow, develop, deepen, and come to new meanings, new learnings, new moments, new ways of being alive.”
This is the experience of repentance that Jesus calls us all to - the experience of seeing the world and ourselves differently. When we are freed from that which prevents us from being all that God intends for us, when we are able to reject the voices who tell us that we are less than who were were born to be, when we are able to find ourselves in the flow of God’s love, then we are able to find within ourselves the integrity and synergy that comes from knowing ourselves as children of God.
Methodist minister Steve Garners-Holmes concludes as he reflects on these passages:
The Gospel of Mark opens with the words the beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the son of God. The Gospel is the beginning of the Good News - how we each respond to it is how the Good News continues to be told in the world.
May we each embrace wonder. May we be astonished by who we truly are. May we live love authentically. May we shift the balance of power in the universe.
Amen.
Frame Memorial Presbyterian Church
Texts: Psalm 111, Mark 1:21-28
It was a dark and stormy night. Suddenly a shot rang out! Many of us read the opening line to Snoopy’s novel, again and again through the years we read the Peanuts comic strip. And we remember some other famous opening lines, whether from fiction or oratory:
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.Call me Ishmael.Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.The passage from Mark isn’t actually the opening, so why even bring it up? I bring it up because today’s lesson flows out of the opening, so as long as we’re talking about it, let’s read the opening line of Mark’s Gospel:
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We didn’t read Mark from the very beginning this year, but that’s the opening sentence: The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Following that sentence, Mark launches directly into describing the ministry of Jesus. Unlike the gospels of Matthew and Luke, Mark tells no Christmas story. No infancy narrative, or stories from the childhood of Jesus. Mark just plunges into the story of the ministry of Jesus, beginning with his baptism, that we read about three weeks ago. Then we went to two call stories - one from John’s Gospel, two weeks ago; and the other from Mark’s Gospel, last week.
So actually we are still in the opening passages of Mark’s account of Jesus - and as Mark is telling this story, we should pay particular attention to how he describes the episodes at the beginning - for he is laying a foundation for the rest of the story. This episode connects to both the passages from Mark that we’ve read in recent weeks, and not surprisingly - after all, we are only at verse 21 in this first chapter.
And that brings me to an important aside - one of the real problems with the way we read the Bible in worship is that we tend to take a 6-12 verse segment and deal with it in isolation, and it wasn’t meant to be read in that way. None of these passages are stand alone nuggets of meaning - much of what they mean comes from their context, both their literary context and their historical context.
And of course, that’s true of most words - how you hear me depends on how well you know me, and also upon your own circumstances. Communication doesn’t stand in isolation - like real estate, its value comes from location, location, location - or context, context, context.
Back to today’s lesson - this time, in context. After Mark announces what his Gospel is about - the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God - he then tells the story of the baptism of Jesus (with some background on John the Baptist). The high point of the baptism of Jesus had been the Spirit of God descending upon Jesus and a voice from heaven saying “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
Then Jesus had been led into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan… and then he returned to begin his ministry, which Mark summarized saying, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
To understand what I believe is going on in these passages, we have to actually get away from our own context and just read what the text actually says. When we hear “Satan” we tend to think about a devil, tempting us to do bad things. But that’s not what the text actually says. The word Satan originally meant accuser and in the context of this series of stories, gives us a different perspective. Jesus is blessed by God in his baptism, and then goes into the wilderness where he has a very different experience - he experiences the accuser. For Jesus, as for most of us, the central spiritual battle is the battle for our identity is: who do we believe we really are?
I’ve spoken before about basement and balcony voices that tell us who we are - and most of us have both of these voices speaking to us. Basement voices are those voices who tell us that we’ll never amount to much, that no one likes us, that we’re too ugly, or dumb, or clumsy, or slow. And we carry these basement voices with us because people in our lives - parents or teachers or coaches or peers - have said these things to us. I remember once having lunch with a woman whom I kind of envied - she is attractive, and fit, and smart, and very competent - and I was so stunned when she told me that because of the things her mother had said to her all her life, she really struggled with self-esteem. It’s a rare person who doesn’t struggle with the basement voices at all.
But most of us also have some balcony voices in our lives - those voices that identify our gifts, who tell us that we are precious and lovable, those voices that echo God’s in our hearts, those voices that bless us and tell us that we are a blessing.
And the passages in Mark’s Gospel about the baptism of Jesus and his temptation in the wilderness tell us that Jesus, too, was hearing both of these voices. And when he came back from his time in the wilderness with the accuser, where he had been cared for by angels - and we should remember here that “angel” comes from the Greek word angelos meaning messenger - so Jesus had dealt with the accuser by relying on the messages from God. Jesus had come to a sense of who he was, and so he was ready to proclaim the Good News of God, that the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near - and he called disciples, and that brings us to this first miracle story, which is in stark contrast to the baptism. For here, Jesus is not affirmed by God, but accused by an unclean spirit - a spirit that is the antithesis of the voice of God. It is not a story about a Hollywood exorcism, but about the very real voices that we all encounter, those very present forces that block our ability to be who we really are.
If these early miracles are intended to show us what Jesus means by the kingdom of God coming near, perhaps we see it in this story - that Jesus is, as David Lose of Luther Seminary in St. Paul puts it “...opposing the forces of evil which would rob the children of God of all that God hopes and intends for them.”
Oh, how we all need that Good News! How we all need to be delivered from the voices of fear, the voices of condemnation, the voices of criticism that are either tearing us down, or only letting us feel good about ourselves if we are tearing others down. How we all need to realize that indeed, the time is right to let our minds be changed - about ourselves, about the world, about God - so that we might experience the love of God, and live the love of God, and pass on the love of God. How we all need to awaken to that love, in order that our lives might have the authority and authenticity of Jesus - that integrity that comes from knowing who we are, and living out of that centeredness.
This story takes place in Capernaum. When I was in Israel 2½ years ago, we visited Capernaum. We went into the ruins of the synagogue, which are 2 buildings away from the ruins of the home of Simon Peter, which is a stone’s throw away from the water’s edge. As you continue down the street, away from the shore, you pass a number of small businesses - indeed, Capernaum, where Jesus lived during a large part of his ministry, reminded me of walking along Main Street in Stevens Point - and reminded me that Jesus was often in ministry among people who knew him well. St. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the Gospel at all times - use words if necessary.” The people of Capernaum knew Jesus, and knew that the Gospel he lived was consistent with the words he preached. The Good News of Jesus came from his own experience of the wisdom of God. The Good News of Jesus was shown in his own authenticity.
Psalm 111 spoke of the faithfulness of God, the works of God, the covenant of God. It also spoke of wisdom, saying, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Here also, we need a fresh understanding - in this case, fear means something much more like awe or wonder. Sr. Joan Chittister describes this as “...holy astonishment, complete wonder and awe at what God does in my life and the life of everyone around me.” Such holy astonishment was the response of those in the synagogue in Capernaum who were amazed at the teaching of Jesus. Ms. Chittister continues, “... wisdom, if we seek it, is that which simply does not let us alone. Wisdom doesn’t settle down nor does it allow us to settle down. Wisdom leads us from one point to another in life until we learn what we’re supposed to learn, until we do what we’re supposed to do, until we each become what we’re supposed to become…. If we respond to the voice of wisdom around us and in us, we will then need to change, grow, develop, deepen, and come to new meanings, new learnings, new moments, new ways of being alive.”
This is the experience of repentance that Jesus calls us all to - the experience of seeing the world and ourselves differently. When we are freed from that which prevents us from being all that God intends for us, when we are able to reject the voices who tell us that we are less than who were were born to be, when we are able to find ourselves in the flow of God’s love, then we are able to find within ourselves the integrity and synergy that comes from knowing ourselves as children of God.
Methodist minister Steve Garners-Holmes concludes as he reflects on these passages:
You don’t need to have miraculous powers. All you need to do is live with authenticity, live with integrity rooted in love, live your life as truly as the songbird sings its own true song, and you tap into Spirit, and through you flows a power that defeats evil and creates a new world. Be lovingly present. Let your actions speak. Be transparent to God’s grace. In so doing, you draw on a power that helps you stand against all that would diminish life. And you shift the balance of power in the universe.
The Gospel of Mark opens with the words the beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the son of God. The Gospel is the beginning of the Good News - how we each respond to it is how the Good News continues to be told in the world.
May we each embrace wonder. May we be astonished by who we truly are. May we live love authentically. May we shift the balance of power in the universe.
Amen.